hes, and so few pounds necessary to winter the bees,
that when I read it, I found myself wondering if the English inch and
pound were the same as ours.

SMALL HIVES MORE LIABLE TO ACCIDENTS.

At all events, I think it too small for our Yankee bees in any place.
We must remember, that the queen needs room for all her eggs, and the
bees need space to store their winter provisions; for reasons before
given, this should be in one apartment. When this is too small, the
consequences will be, their winter supply of food is liable to run out.
The swarms from such will be smaller and the stock much more liable to
accidents, which soon finish them off.

APT TO DECEIVE.

Yet I can imagine how one can be deceived by such a small hive, and
recommend it strongly; especially if patented. Suppose you locate a
large swarm in a hive near the size of Dr. Bevan's; the bees would
occupy nearly all the room with brood-combs; now if you put on boxes,
and as soon as filled put on empty ones, the amount of surplus honey
would be great; very satisfactory for the first summer, but in a year
or two your little hive is gone. This result will be in proportion as
we enlarge our hives, until we arrive at the opposite extreme.

UNPROFITABLE IF TOO LARGE.

If too large, more honey will be stored than is required for their
winter use. It is evident a portion might have been taken, if it had
been stored in boxes. The swarms will not be proportionably large when
they do issue, which is seldom--but there is this advantage, they last
a long time, and are but little profit in surplus honey, or swarms.

CORRECT SIZE BETWEEN TWO EXTREMES.

Between the two extremes, like most other cases, is found the correct
place. A hive twelve inches square, each way, inside, has been
recommended as the correct size. Here are 1,728 cubic inches. This, I
think, is sufficient for many places, as the queen probably has all the
room necessary for depositing her eggs; and as the swarms are more
numerous, and nearly as large as from hives much larger; also, there is
room for honey sufficient to carry the bees through the winter, at
least, in many sections south of 40 degrees latitude, where the winter
is somewhat short.

SIZE FOR WARM LATITUDES.

This size will also do in this latitude (42 degrees,) in some seasons,
but not at all in others.[3] Not one swarm in fifty will consume
twenty-five lbs. of honey through the winter, that is, from the last of
_Septemb